ARC has worked in refugee camps near Quetta since 2002, focusing on providing health care and training members of the community in basic health services, according to the ARC website. It began operating in northern parts of Pakistan after 2005 devastating earthquake. - AP Photo

QUETTA: Gunmen have kidnapped eight local staff working for a US charity near the Afghan border in southwest Pakistan, which is rife with insurgency and sectarian violence, officials said Tuesday.

The American Refugee Committee (ARC) workers were abducted on Monday in Pishin district, about 50 kilometres north of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, government officials said.

“All of them are Pakistani employees of the American NGO. We have launched an operation to trace them,” Abdul Mansoor, deputy Pishin district commissioner, told AFP by telephone.

“They were coming back after distributing food at an Afghan refugee camp. Their vehicle was intercepted and they were kidnapped at gunpoint. Their vehicle was also taken.” Officials said they feared the kidnappers may have moved the hostages to the mountainous area along the Afghan border, about 30 kilometres away.

A local ARC official confirmed the kidnapping but refused to speak on the record or provide further details.

According to its website, ARC has been working in Afghan refugee camps near Quetta since 2002, providing health care to 101,000 Afghans, and has helped 156,000 people affected by flooding in Pakistan.

Baluchistan has seen a recent surge in violence, linked to a separatist insurgency, sectarian violence and Taliban militants.